The Internet provides access to a wide variety of content. When a user searches for content on the Internet by submitting a query to a search engine, the search engine may return a query response that includes a plurality of search results. Search results may include hyperlinks to first-party resources (e.g., webpages, documents, images, videos, etc.) and/or third-party content items (e.g., advertisements, public service announcements, etc.) that are determined to be relevant to the query. The query response may be provided to a client device in the form of a results page. When the client selects a desired search result on the results page (e.g., by clicking on the search result), the client's browser navigates to a destination resource associated with the search result.
Some search engines enhance the results page by highlighting (e.g., bolding) various terms in the search results. Conventional highlighting techniques typically involve highlighting each term submitted as part of the search query throughout the search results. Synonyms and other terms that are semantically equivalent to the query terms may also be highlighted. While conventional highlighting techniques can sometimes assist a user in identifying desired search results, such highlighting can also distract and overwhelm the user and may cause the results page to appear cluttered. It would be desirable to enhance the results page in such a way that allows the user to readily identify relevant search results while avoiding the disadvantages of conventional highlighting techniques.